20, 2009 12:00 PM The Tempe Union High School District Tuesday approved a budget that its superintendent called the worst-case scenario for the district's 2009-10 fiscal year. Governing board members unanimously passed a $74.8 million budget that...

Tempe mourns man who helped build Fire Department - AZ Central.com

20, 2009 10:31 AM Generations of Tempe firefighters gathered Monday with family and friends of Ralph Blanton to say goodbye to a man who helped build the foundation of Tempe's modern-day Fire Department. Blanton worked as a volunteer firefighter in the...

Tempe, AZ (PRWEB) May 20, 2009 -- Mindspace, a full-service Tempe-based advertising, public relations and new media agency, announced the addition of several new employees to the rapidly-expanding company. The additional employees were hired to...

TEMPE, Ariz. -- A man is fighting for his life and a woman was critically injured after their vehicle reportedly smashed into a semi on a Valley freeway while they were fleeing from police this morning. The driver of the car has been identified as...

19, 2009 10:07 AM Tempe school officials have annexed two sections of Ahwatukee that are within the Phoenix city limits but outside the boundaries of any school district. Last week the Maricopa County School District conducted public hearings on...

Join Tempe native Frank Caliendo when he brings his dead-on impressions to Dodge Theatre October 10. Once described by the Hollywood Reporter as "a combination of Robin Williams and Jim Carrey,” Caliendo's high energy act is sure to feature some of his...

Video footage of STONE TEMPLE PILOTS/ex-VELVET REVOLVER singer Scott Weiland performing the VELVET REVOLVER song "Do It For The Kids" with his solo band on May 13, 2009 at Tempe, Arizona's Marquee Theatre can be viewed below....

A Tempe fertility treatment center announced Tuesday that scientists have achieved the first successful in vitro fertilization pregnancy in Arizona and the Southwest using frozen human eggs. The eggs were frozen, then later thawed, fertilized,...

Mill Avenue contest to spur independent retailers - Bizjournals.com

Small businesses looking for free rent and a prime location can submit their business plan to leaders in Tempe as part of the Mill Avenue District Retail Competition. The contest is aimed at spurring growth of local independent businesses and creating...

ASU seeks aid for expansion in Phoenix - Arizona Republic

19, 2009 12:00 AM Three years after voters paid to build Arizona State University's downtown Phoenix campus, the university says it plans to ask taxpayers for more money for an expansion that may relocate the law school from Tempe....

Tempe Preparatory Academy

Tempe Preparatory Academy is a charter school in Tempe, a suburb of Phoenix, Arizona in the United States. Founded in 1996, Tempe Preparatory Academy (also known as Tempe Prep or TPA) offers a Great Books curriculum centered around Western culture, history, language, and literature. Its motto is Verum, Pulchrum, Bonum, meaning Truth, Beauty, Goodness, the individual ideals that the school upholds. It is also the founding model of the Charter Management Organization Great Hearts Academies, and a sister school to the Great Hearts schools: Chandler Prep, Veritas Prep (North Phoenix), Mesa Prep, Scottsdale Prep, Glendale Prep, and Teleos Prep (South Phoenix).

As a charter school Tempe Prep offers a Great Books education centering around fundamental texts in the Western pantheon. Tempe Prep's philosophy includes small class size (no classroom has more than 22 students) and education using the Socratic method.

As a public school in the state of Arizona, Tempe Preparatory Academy has no entrance requirements. Interested families must apply for the school's annual admissions lottery, which takes place in the spring of each school year. However, if a family has one child enrolled, any other children automatically receive a spot. Software designed by alumnus Joseph Irvine is used to perform these lotteries randomly.

Because the academy is a charter school, it has the right to cap its enrollment, and does so at 360 students with no more than 20 students per section. However, starting in the 2008-2009 school year, Tempe Preparatory Academy will cap each class at 22 students, allowing two more students into each class. Another addition in the 2008-2009 school year is one class of sixth grade.

According to the Arizona State Board for Charter Schools 2002 Parent Satisfaction Survey, Tempe Preparatory Academy ranked #1 in its category, with 146 responses averaging 4.05 on a 4.0 grade scale (A+ to Total Failure). Over all categories of schools (elementary, middle, high), TPA ranked 9th in the state.

The state of Arizona has repeatedly rewarded Tempe Prep with an "excelling" label, an honor it shares with a very small number of schools.

Tempe Preparatory Academy offers few choices in its academic curriculum. 9-12th grade students may choose to study Latin/Greek, French, Spanish, or German. The rest of the curriculum is fixed. Students at Tempe Prep exceed all requirements for students graduating from the state of Arizona.

Tempe Prep offers many extracurriculars in fine arts and academics. Although Tempe Prep is a small school, the Speech and Debate team and Odyssey of the Mind teams are competitive, regularly placing in the top 5 at tournaments with many schools over 10 times the size. Tempe Prep is the current Arizona state champion in its division in Speech and Debate, first winning in 2006 against 14-year reigning champions, River Valley, and subsequently winning in 2007, 2008 and 2009. The team regularly places in the top 5 at tournaments, regardless of size. The Odyssey of the Mind teams have State Championships beginning in 2002 until 2007 with a World Final Placement of 5th place in 2004, 4th place in 2007, and 2nd place in the 2008 World Finals Competition. Tempe Prep also features a number of other clubs, such as Science Bowl, Young Democrats of America, AZJCL and Yearbook Club. The school also offers numerous musical groups, such as string ensemble, wind orchestra, percussion ensemble, and Cantamus, a successful, extracurricular choral ensemble, which sang at Carnegie Hall in the summer of 2007.

Tempe Prep competes in the AIA (Arizona Interscholastic Association) in the 1A Conference's West Region. As of summer 2008, Tempe Prep is the four-time defending state champion in girls' high school track and field as well as the defending champion in mens' high school track and field. In women's high school soccer, Tempe Prep has won four straight North Region championships and is a four-time state finalist in the Winter 1A/2A/3A league, winning the state championship in 2008.

Senior students at Tempe Preparatory Academy must complete a written thesis and defense before receiving a diploma from the school. Students are required to write a fifteen page thesis based upon three texts, one of which must be a TPA curriculum text. They are advised by a faculty member and must appear before a defense committee.

On an annual basis during the school's spring break, senior students join faculty members on a trip to Washington D.C. The trip regularly lasts several days and sometimes includes visits to Philadelphia and historic sites in Virginia.

A strict dress code is enforced for all students. Male students wear khaki slacks, white or blue shirts, dark socks and dress shoes, while female students have their choice of knee length skirts in Wilson plaid or navy blue dress slacks, white and chambray shirts, and appropriate socks. Students must maintain conservative standards in terms of hair and jewelry.

Tempe Town Lake

Tempe Town Lake is a reservoir that occupies a portion of the often dry riverbed of the Salt River as it passes through the city of Tempe, Arizona just north of Tempe Butte.

In March 1989, Tempe adopted the Rio Salado Master Plan which represented the culmination of more than 20 years of environmental land planning. Studies of water quality and usage, the Mill Avenue Bridges and ASU recreation ensued and programming began. A groundbreaking ceremony near Tempe Beach Park marked the beginning of construction of the river channelization. The Rio Salado Master Plan showed a Town Lake concept with a continuous body of water between the north and south shores. Previously, the lake concept included islands; this concept was modified to meet the flow capacity of the river channel. Every year hundreds of people jump from the Mill Ave bridge but survive from the short fall.

In 1995, the City added more staff to the team dedicated to the Rio Salado project and began construction of a mile long bike path along the south bank of the river. The path features public art at a number of spots along the way. The city began the Town Lake design report and completed another financial capacity study and landscape designs for portions of the parks.

In 1996 the consultant completed construction drawings for the Tempe Town Lake and the City designated 800 acres (3.2 km2) of area including the lake as Rio Salado Park.

On March 19, 1997 requests for bids were sent out for the lake construction. The City awarded contacts for construction of the lake on June 12, and groundbreaking ceremonies were held on August 8.

Water from the Central Arizona Project (CAP) started flowing into Tempe Town Lake on June 2, 1999. By July 14, the lake was declared full, and on November 7, Tempe Town Lake was opened to the public.

Originally built in 1931, Tempe Beach Park was completely renovated in 1999 as part of the construction of Town Lake. The park connects to the 5 miles (8.0 km) of paths for bicycling, jogging or in-line skating that circle Town Lake.

The historic baseball field plays host to baseball and softball games, as well as carnival games. Patrons of the lake are able to rent paddle boats.

In 2002, the $1.3 million Splash Playground was opened in Tempe Beach Park. The 1-acre (4,000 m2) playground is both a way for kids to have fun in the water, and to learn about the water cycle. Only about two inches of water will pool in parts of the park. The water is kept flowing across the playground, where it is eventually collected, filtered, cleaned, and re-circulated in a state-of-the-art system.

The amphitheatre accommodates 5,000 people for concerts or outdoor trade shows.

Rio Salado Cruise Company operates its boat concession out of the beach park.

The Arizona State University Sailing Club, the Arizona Yacht Club and private boat owners sail out of the Tempe Town Lake Marina on the north bank of the lake.

Several rowing clubs practice and race on the lake, including Rio Salado Rowing Club, Arizona State University's Rowing Club, Tempe Town Lake Rowing, and the lake's premier junior rowing program, Tempe Junior Crew, as well as many private owners. All boat owners must have a license as well.

The Arizona Dragon Boat Association, the Gila Dragons Dragon Boat Team and several Outrigger Clubs all have their home on the lake.

Annual events at Tempe Beach Park include the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl New Year's Eve Block Party, Circle K Tempe Music Festival, Oktoberfest, APS Fantasy of Lights, Fourth of July fireworks show, and AVP Pro Beach Volleyball (now held in Glendale as of 2007).

In addition, several regattas for rowing, sailing, and kayaking occur throughout the year. There is also the annual Rowers Triathlon, which consists of a 4000m erg piece, body circuits, and a five kilometer run.

The lake was completed in 1999, using inflatable rubber barriers in the riverbed to confine water within its boundaries. It is nearly 3 km (2 mi) long, with an average surface area of 910,000 m² (224 acres), and an average depth of 4 m (13 ft), for a total average volume of 3,590,000 cubic metres (2912 acre-feet). The maximum depth of the lake reaches 6 m (19 ft).

The lake was initially filled with 3.8 million m³ (3065 acre-feet) of water purchased from the Central Arizona Project. Evaporative and other losses (about 6400 m³ or 5.2 acre-feet per day) are compensated through additional purchase of CAP water, exchanges of reclaimed water, and long-term storage credits. Seepage losses are virtually nil, thanks to a system that recaptures virtually all seepage and pumps it back into the lake.

A park surrounds the area, along with office and residential highrises such as SouthBank, Grigio, Northshore Condominiums, Onyx Tower Condominiums, Rio West, Plaza Del Rio and Hayden Ferry Lakeside. The lake is used for practice by the ASU rowing team. The lake has fishing, boating (by permit and by day rental which can be purchased at the Rio Salado Operations Center), and an excursion cruise, the “Rio Salado Cruise.” The lake also hosts a small marina on the northern shore. Tempe Beach Park is home to several major annual events including Tempe's yearly Independence Day Celebrations and the Tempe Music Festival.

These facilities are maintained by the City of Tempe.

Tempe Town Lake is stocked with rainbow trout on a monthly basis from November to February. Other species found in the lake naturally include largemouth bass, yellow bass, tilapia, carp, channel catfish and bluegill. An Arizona fishing license is required to fish in the lake. All motor vehicles are required to have a four stroke marine engine.

Each section of dam, or bladder, is about 240 feet (73 m) long, weighs 40 tons and is more than one inch thick. At times, a small amount of water can be seen flowing over the top of the west dams, creating a 19-foot (5.8 m) waterfall. This water can be recaptured by a recirculation system and pumped back into the lake.

The east dams are five feet high and sit on a two-foot cement base. The west dams are 16 feet (4.9 m) high and sit on a three-foot base.

Tempe's dams are computer controlled and maintain air pressure of six pounds per square inch. They can be controlled individually to within a half inch and can be lowered incrementally depending on the flood conditions.

The riverbed of the Salt River at Phoenix is often dry or a trickle, with the river's flow being entirely diverted to agricultural and other uses upriver. The Tempe Town Lake uses artificial structures and the natural riverbed to form a lake. In periods of high runoff, the inflatable dams confining the lake must be lowered to permit the passage of the Salt River itself.

For the first time since its construction the 1.5-metre (5 ft) eastern dam was lowered, on December 31, 2004. Heavy rains in the Salt River watershed required the release of 570 m³/s (20,000 ft³/s) of runoff into the Salt River. The dams are designed to handle a maximum flow of 1800 m³/s (65,000 ft³/s).

On February 13, 2005, the western dam was lowered from 5 to 0.5 m (16 to 1.5 ft) due to increasing water flow from storms.

The Valley Metro Light Rail project began building this bridge over Tempe Town Lake, starting in the first quarter of 2005. The lighting ceremony for the bridge, which was the celebration for the completion of the most important parts of the bridge, was held on Saturday, December 9, 2006 during the APS Fantasy of Lights Boat Parade. The overall project will be completed in 2008 when the Metro starts up. Due to construction of the bridge, the portion of the lake west of the bridge has been cordoned off.

Tempe High School (Tempe, Arizona)

Tempe High School is located in Tempe, Arizona, approximately one mile south of Arizona State University. Tempe Union High School was established by a vote of the people of Tempe in 1907. Classes were held in rented space in downtown Tempe for the 1908-09 school year, as the school's permanent location was built. The first building opened in the fall of 1909 on the southeast corner of Mill and University (today as the Tempe Towne Center). The school has recently been the beneficiary of a $25 million renovation project for the Fine Arts Complex, a State-of-the-art fitness center, outdoor amphitheater and courtyards.

Tempe High's enrollment generally fluctuates between 1,300 and 1,400 students. THS offers a wide variety of curriculum, including an honors Curriculum, the International Baccalaureate program, and H.O.P.E. which allows students to explore and train for medical professions by partnership with Tempe St. Luke’s Hospital.

During the 2007-08 school year, Tempe High will celebrate it's 100th anniversary, beginning with a Centennial Homecoming Celebration. To celebrate this momentous occasion, a Centennial Committee has formed under the wing of the Tempe High Buffalo Foundation. The Buffalo Foundation is the prime alumni organization for Tempe High School. This organization will help preserve the proud traditions and history of Tempe High and serve as an alumni resource for reunions and fundraising events.

Centennial events include: Athletic Hall of Fame dinner, Homecoming parade down Mill Avenue, Back to the Future celebration, and the Embassy Suites Blue and White Bash.

Upon the opening of Tempe's second high school, McClintock High, an intense rivalry began between the two schools for many, many years. The THS vs. MHS football and basketball games had to be played at ASU facilities well into the late 1970's because the individual schools' stadiums and gymnasiums were not nearly large enough to house the large crowds.

Tempe Diablo Stadium

Tempe Diablo Stadium is a baseball field located in Tempe, Arizona. It is the spring training home of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and the home field for night games of the Arizona League Tempe Angels. It was previously the spring training home of the Seattle Mariners, who are now co-hosted out of the PeoriaSports Complex, with the San Diego Padres.

The stadium was built in 1968 and holds 9,785 people. The stadium underwent an extensive $20 million renovation and was rededicated on Mar. 3, 2006. The renovation included the main stadium, the Major League Fields and the Minor League Complex on site. In return for the newly updated stadium, the Angels agreed to extend their spring training lease through Dec. 31, 2025. $12 million of the renovations were funded by the Arizona Sports and Tourism Authority, a municipal corporation charged with funding renovations of Cactus League stadiums throughout Maricopa County.